Kingman Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Thinking of a change from the annual Mexican pilgrimage. Has anyone been or recommend it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 Depends what you like doing , if it's beaches and bugger all I can't help you as I didn't spend any time on one in Vietnam We did it as part of muti country trip , so entered Vietnam from Laos ( actually started in Burma originally ) , went to Hanoi , then Halong bay , Hue , then finished in Ho Ch Minh .... then took a car down to Chau Doc where you can take a boat into Cambodia ( Phnom Penh) , then flight down to Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) At the time Vietnam airlines did an air pass which made it cheap and easier to fly the big distances between towns ( V meeting back packers in a bar and finding they spent 30 hours in a bus trying to write their blogs on bumpy roads ) Hanoi - is kinda Ok nothing special (imo) , we used it as a base , wandered around and drunk beer out of buckets on a street corner with locals listening to music being played on a device that someone had rigged up to the street lights via somewhat questionable health and safety practises Halong Bay - it's a few hours transfer by car and then you get on a Chinese Junk style boat and live on that for a couple of days - I'd recommend this trip Hue - was the dividing line between North and South in the war so has a bit of war stuff , but it was also the home of the Emperors back in the day so there is some other stuff to see as well - interesting place HCM - war tunnels and general city stuff - interesting though and I get ot see Villa beat Liverpool live on TV in a bar Chau Doc - bit of a hick town , just one that is home to 150,00 people ... but it's where the boat to Cambodia departs from .. plus you get to travel down the Mekong Delta and tick that one off the list couple of Photo's here to give you an idea of Halong bay etc ... there is obviously a lot more tovietnam than the bits I saw , but from the places I went , I'd probably say Cambodia was more interesting than Vietnam , but if you are out that neck of the woods then visit both , you can get cheap flights from Siem Reap to Singapore for your journey home as well 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted July 11, 2017 Author Share Posted July 11, 2017 Wow, Thanks tone but i think i would need a two week holiday to recover from that. I don't mind a a few gigs and a bit of sight seeing but do enough running around day to day so preference is to be pampered and do bugger all whilst eating and drinking some top nosh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappy Posted July 11, 2017 Share Posted July 11, 2017 I spent a month in Vietnam and loved it. Would recommend HCMC, Dalat (up in the mountains, do an 'easy rider' motorbike tour), Hoi An and Halong Bay. Wasn't a big fan of Hanoi but it's worth going to as a base for Halong Bay and for the food market. I'd give Hue a miss too but it was almost 40 degrees when I was there, not ideal sightseeing weather! I also liked Nha Trang but wouldn't put it above the 4 places in the first paragraph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAuthority Posted July 12, 2017 VT Supporter Share Posted July 12, 2017 7 hours ago, Kingman said: Wow, Thanks tone but i think i would need a two week holiday to recover from that. I don't mind a a few gigs and a bit of sight seeing but do enough running around day to day so preference is to be pampered and do bugger all whilst eating and drinking some top nosh I spent a few weeks in Vietnam and enjoyed it a lot. If you are looking for a more beachy holiday in that part of the world maybe I would suggest Bali or Thailand. Vietnam highlights - riding on the back of motorbikes from Hue to Hoi An via China Beach (suitcases tied to the back!) Fantastci way to see lots of villages on the way and to scare the shit out of Mrs. Authority. I loved Hanoi - the energy is crazy and wild but we live in New York so maybe we start from a different place to most. We did a lot of food tours in Hanoi which were mind-blowing (including 5 pence for a pint of local beer!) If you are going to do the cruise in Halong Bay I suggest not doing Halong but going to the next bay over called Bai Tu Long. Halong is very busy and dirty and there are lots of ships. There is only one company which has a license to cruise on Bai Tu Long so there are only 3 ships there. It was absolutely magical and one of the highlights of my travels anywhere in the world. If you're interested I can dig the info up for you on the company. All inclusive cruise, dinner in a cave on a deserted island and we met a few cool Aussies too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mottaloo Posted August 28, 2018 Share Posted August 28, 2018 Just wondering as my lil bro is out there at the moment....bangkok, Laos and Vietnam...are the locals out there generally a great bunch of lads ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted August 28, 2018 Share Posted August 28, 2018 (edited) 2 hours ago, mottaloo said: Just wondering as my lil bro is out there at the moment....bangkok, Laos and Vietnam...are the locals out there generally a great bunch of lads ? I've been to SE Asia numerous times and never had a problem with the locals. If you respect them then they will respect you. Funnily enough, been chatting to my mates today and we're probably heading to Saigon in November, after Bankgok. Been a few years since I was last there. Edited August 28, 2018 by Xela Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mottaloo Posted August 28, 2018 Share Posted August 28, 2018 Thanks for that Alex. I'm really in to my foreign cultures and etiquette but I've only been to Malaysia so I'm not clued up on local customs in SE Asia. My bro is a switched on dude so he'll have no probs and has plenty of respect to give. Keep us informed on your plans, including pics........or GTFO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One For The Road Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 On 29/08/2018 at 00:34, Xela said: I've been to SE Asia numerous times and never had a problem with the locals. If you respect them then they will respect you. Funnily enough, been chatting to my mates today and we're probably heading to Saigon in November, after Bankgok. Been a few years since I was last there. I've literally just spent a few weeks back in Saigon and boy has it changed. Be sure to head to the Sky XXX bar. Its amazing and the best rooftop bar in Asia. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xela Posted October 5, 2018 Share Posted October 5, 2018 3 hours ago, One For The Road said: I've literally just spent a few weeks back in Saigon and boy has it changed. Be sure to head to the Sky XXX bar. Its amazing and the best rooftop bar in Asia. Cheers! 8 years since I was last there. I remember a bar called Crazy Buffalo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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